Power electronics are a crucial link for a successful hydrogen transition

The rise of hydrogen brings unexpected challenges. Electrolysers are needed to produce hydrogen, but integrating these huge installations into an already overloaded electricity grid is not easy. FHI spoke with Bart de Vries, Business Developer & Sales Manager at VONK, about the crucial role of power electronics for a successful hydrogen future. De Vries will speak at the Power Electronics & Energy Storage Event in Den Bosch on 28 May.

Register for free for the lecture and event

“When companies talk about hydrogen, they don’t immediately make the connection with power electronics, while this is indeed essential for production. After all, electricity is needed to split water into hydrogen and oxygen. This process requires specific DC voltages that are not directly available via the existing electricity grid. If we do nothing now, our hydrogen plans will fail in the near future,” says De Vries.

Challenges  

“Electrolysers age over time,” the engineer continues. “This means that more power is needed to produce the same amount of hydrogen.” But that is not the only special thing, according to De Vries, because electrolysers are real power guzzlers. “To realize all our hydrogen plans, an enormous amount of electricity is needed. There are plans to use 3 to 4 GigaWatt of electrolysis capacity at centralized points in the Netherlands by the end of this decade. That is approximately 20% of the total electricity consumption of the whole of the Netherlands! At the moment, the electricity supply cannot handle that.”

During his presentation, De Vries explains why power electronics are the key to finding solutions so that the hydrogen transition does not stagnate. “It is a field of tension. On the one hand, we all want to participate in the energy transition and hydrogen plays an essential role in this - certainly for industry. On the other hand, the demand for electricity is increasing so exponentially that we have to be careful that grid operators and electrolysers are ready for it and that the power supply remains affordable.”

Solutions

One of the ways to generate electricity quickly and sustainably is the use of wind farms. Grid operators are fully committed to this. De Vries: “We are working on developments to offshore wind farms can be directly connected to onshore electrolysers. This contributes to a more efficient conversion and reduces the dependency on the electricity grid. This is still in an early stage.” 

In order to realize the conversion of electricity in the current situation, different topologies are used. De Vries: "These topologies all have specific properties that make them more or less suitable under certain circumstances. Take the thyristor for example. This technology has been used for 50 years to convert large amounts of electricity. For certain applications, the thyristor is an excellent choice, but the major disadvantage is that the power quality is not so good. It requires high additional costs for additional equipment to solve this problem.”

De Vries continues: “At the other end of the spectrum, you have the fully semiconductor controlled converter (IGBT). The IGBT is actually very good in terms of power quality, but can only handle limited amounts of current. As a result, the IGBT is very expensive if you still want to process large amounts of current. The circumstances ultimately determine which application is most suitable.”

Future of hydrogen

According to De Vries, it is important for companies to be prepared, because hydrogen is going to become very big in the Netherlands and worldwide. “Industry is already using hydrogen on a large scale and this will only increase. Approximately 25% of our total CO2 emissions come from a number of large companies in industry that can all use hydrogen. If you use a sustainable alternative such as green hydrogen there, you are talking about a huge reduction in CO2 emissions. And then to think that the real scaling up has yet to come!”

Social importance
Despite the great social importance of hydrogen, De Vries notices that the power electronics used in this is still unknown territory for many companies. “My goal is that at the end of my presentation people understand why power electronics is such an important link within the entire process chain and that they will apply that knowledge. There is a discrepancy between the worlds of people who work with molecules and those who work with electrons. I want to bridge that gap.”

Are you curious about Bart de Vries' vision? Then register for the presentation and the event for free via the website.